After watching the very excellent "Larsson is Rocky" video my memory was drawn to the summer of 1997. Rangers had just equalled NIAR and life really could not get worse for Timdom. We had writhed in agony for ten years watching our rivals sweep all before them and equal the record of a Celtic team and an iconic manager that they were not even worthy of watching on television.
The only thing that was worse than them equalling our famous record and exorcising the ghosts of derision that had taunted them for the previous 20 year period was the fact that we were in no position to stop them from going any further. They were the footballing equivalent of the AT-AT’s in "The Empire Strikes Back" How could the Rebel Alliance (sic) stop these behemoths?
The squad that they had was powerful, with strong players the lynchpin in defence, midfield and attack. And of course they probably had arguably the best shot stopper Scotland had ever produced in modern football.
The squad that they had at their disposal was formidable. In defence Richard Gough was a colossus, although he was never really partnered with a player as stoic as himself the protection he afforded Goram was not to be ignored. Also the protection he was afforded by the referees in this country added to his potency.
In the centre of the park, they were peerless and almost spoiled for choice. Gascoigne was a genius, a flawed one but a genius none the less. With the likes of Durrant, McCall and Albertz all waiting to be paired with the Geordie the future did not look bright.
Options up front were also almost boundless. Brian Laudrup had proven himself to be a fine signing. His craft and trickery was backed up with an eye for goal. With poacher supreme McCoist in the striking position they were strong!
Over on the other side of Glasgow things could not be much worse. With the "Three Amigos" heading for the exit doors and McStay being forced to finally hang up his boots through injury the situation could not be any worse. Add to this the lack of a manager and we were in trouble. Serious trouble. The likes of Gordon Marshall, Malky MaKay, Peter Grant and Tommy Johnston were going to be no match for TFOD. Rico Annoni against Brian Laudrup! You’re having a laugh.
The hunt for a manager began in earnest, with perennial targets such as Bobby Robson, Artur Jorge and Louis Van Gaal leading the pack according to the Hacks.
It was at this point that I cast my memory back a decade to season 87-88. The similarities were endless. Rangers were formidable, we had lost our biggest players over the last season or two in MacLeod, McClair and Johnstone to name but three, we were managerless, and of course the season was to be one of the most important in the clubs 99 year history. To end our centenary season tropyless would be unforgiveable!
There was one phrase that I remembered from that time. "There is a fairytale about this club" which was famously uttered by Billy McNeill after Celtic had clinched the double in 88. This was to be my mantra for the next twelve months.
On the 3rd of July 1997, Hugh Keevins announced to the listening world that Portuguese manager Artur Jorge was ensconced within Parkhead and was to be unveiled at a press conference later that afternoon. It was not the first time, nor would it be the last that Keevins has got a story so very, very wrong. Erroneous of Keevins would have been his title in Roman times!
Later on that afternoon, Jansen was unveiled as the new Celtic manager with Murdo MacLeod as his assistant. The press went into overload, with the headlines of "Wim who" and "The worst thing to hit Hiroshima since the Atom Bomb" (in reference to Jansen’s last post as manager of Sanfreece Hiroshima) showed that they couldn’t even attempt a veil of professionalism regarding this appointment.
As if things weren’t bad enough, the smell of burning tyres and site of black smoke signalled that Rangers were getting the chequebook out, and boy did they make a lot of signings!
Murray quickly purchased almost an entire new squad, with the likes of Amoruso, Negri, Niemi, Porrini, Stensaas and Vidmar purchased. More worringly than that however, were the purchases of classy midfielder Jonas Thern and the very impressive Giovanni Van Bronckhurst.
Celtics signings that season were a lot less grandiose than those of our tolerant cousins were. In those pre-transfer window days you could purchase players throughout the season, and Celtic utilised this. For ease of writing I will just list them here as Brattbakk, Burley, Lambert, Blinker, Mahe, Reiper, Jackson and, of course, Henrik Larsson.
I can remember thinking at the time that of the two sets of transfers, Celtic had probably done better so far as necessary signings go. We bought players for the positions we needed to fill and Rangers had bought augmentations. I will leave you to make jokes about fake tits! Having said that though if the new players were not quickly moulded into a unit then Ten in a row was more than a possibilty, it was an odds on favourite.
This particular season has now been consigned to the annals of history, but at the time it was a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows, ups and downs and more than a few tears! Too many stories to mention here, I am sure you will all add your own particular memories of this momentous season, the players, the goals and the celebrations, but I will leave you with this thought.
The position we found ourselves in during that period from both strength of squad and indeed a fiscal point of view is very similar to the one that Rangers find themselves in now. We should never, ever take success for granted. Next time you are feeling a little upset or angry by the way the team has played or by how an individual has performed remember back to those dark days in the nineties and never take success for granted, regardless of how it is earned. We deserve to be entertained, but as soon as that team hits the field of play they deserve to be supported, That’s what we are there for!
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt